Tourism Ireland, Marketing the Island of Ireland Overseas

1 Million+ Germans to Read All About Causeway Coast and Northern Ireland

24 Sep 2012

Nine top German travel and lifestyle journalists made a special trip to the Causeway Coast to experience at first-hand the new Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre and the historic site of Dunluce Castle. Their visit was arranged by Tourism Ireland, in conjunction with the biggest German tour operator for the island of Ireland, Dertour, and their itinerary was designed by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

As well as enjoying a visit to the Causeway Coast, the group also spent time in Belfast, experiencing a Black Taxi tour and a visit to Belfast’s latest tourist attraction, Titanic Belfast.

Zoë Redmond, Tourism Ireland’s manager for Central Europe, said: “Over half the German population takes at least one holiday abroad each year, making Germany the world’s largest outbound travel market and an important tourism market for Northern Ireland. This media visit is just one element of Tourism Ireland’s busy autumn promotional programme, highlighting Northern Ireland as a premier holiday destination in Germany.

“Visits such as this are extremely important, helping to build awareness of what’s on offer in Northern Ireland for potential German holidaymakers. These journalists have had the opportunity to see some of what Northern Ireland has to offer at first-hand, helping to keep the destination ‘front of mind’ for German consumers who are presented with a world of choice on a daily basis and to reinforce our message that there has never been a better time to visit Northern Ireland.”

Notes to Editors:
• Tourism Ireland is the organisation responsible for promoting Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland overseas as a leading holiday destination.
• Tourism is responsible for in excess of 4.9% of GDP in Northern Ireland and supports approximately 40,000 jobs.
• In 2011, 1.5 million overseas visitors came to Northern Ireland (+4% on 2010), delivering revenue of £368 million.
• Tourism Ireland’s international website is www.discoverireland.com; there are 42 different websites, providing information in 14 different languages covering every continent. In 2011, discoverireland.com attracted almost 12 million unique visitors.